So i got a friend that decided to buy this 1100 for 100 bucks (not in the best shape) problem is that it wont cycle. You can load a shell in the chamber and the magazine and it will fire the first shell fine and eject it and it will kick the other shell out of the magazine but thats all the farther it will go, you have to hit the button to finish cycling it. Any suggestions on thing to try to get this problem fixed?

Hi!
Couple things.......The return spring is worn out-this is the one in the stock that the tuning fork seats into. Shells might be too light. Are they reloads? Make sure the magazine tube is clean, dry and smooth. Also the carriage that the bolt sits on. Make sure the inside of that assembly (that slides up and down the mag. tube) is clean and dry inside. It should be shiny after cleaning. 1100s are a more labor intensitive gun to clean, but they MUST be clean to function. any pitting on the mag. tube needs to be smoothed down, or just replace it out. That might req. a trip to the gunsmith. Good luck!

Most likely cause of the problem is a broken leg on the carrier latch. That is the small part that the back of the shell hits when it comes out of the magazine. When the shell comes out of the magazine it hits that latch, the carrier lifts the shell up and the bolt comes foward and pushes the shell into the chamber. Take the trigger assembly out of the gun and check the carrier latch. HMB

It could be any of the things mentioned, or it could be something else. It's pretty hard to tell on-line. But before you try anything else, get some BreakFree CLP, clean the rings and magazine tube, and shoot the gun with a couple of drops of BreakFree on the magazine tube. That may fix it.

If not, you have to start down the laundry list of suggestions already given.

My .02 Cents worth woud be to strip the gun down clean and check each and every part. Clean out the barrel and the venting hole or holes. You didn't say if it was an 1100 3" magnum. If it is you will have just one vent hole in the barrel where the 2 3/4" has two vent holes. Anyway these holes or hole has to be as clean as possible. Get a new rubber seal and make sure the metal seals are placed on slide properly. Flat side to the receiver. As I said clean and check all parts as you go. (Rich.inAz.orinnameonly) P.S.
When you remount the Barrel, place a thin amount of greese on the top of the barrel tang and inside of the receiver where the tang slips under. This puts a little cushion and slows down wear. Other wise you have metal to metal and tiny cracks in the metal and bluing wear will show uo on this tang. Then you could be in for a major problem if this should break.

Many trap barrels start at .790" (#47 drill) and can be as large as .860" (#44). Often they will be in the .800" (#46) to .820" (#45) range.

Skeet barrels are .860" (#44).

Non-magnum field barrels are .790" (#47).

The above have two gas ports.

Magnum barrels have one .730" (#49) gas port.

A pair of .790" gas ports is not a guarantee that the barrel will cycle lighter loads, particularly if the barrel is shorter, like a 26", and especially if the barrel is 21" to 23".

Published data on gas port size generally shows the office factory STARTING POINTS. And note that the current factory size charts date to a revision in 1990. Some of the sizes were different prior to that, and some were revised several times.

Barrel length can play a major role in cycling. As a general rule of thumb, the shorter the barrel, the larger the gas port(s) have to be.

Keep in mind that two identical barrels with identical gas port sizes may have different parameters of what loads will be cycled. This is because the gas ports are not the only criteria in this respect. Tightness of the chamber, and the gas chamber, can play a difference, as well as bore diameter, which though usually consistent, can vary.

Further, it was not stated by the original poster what barrel this gun has, nor for that matter if the action is a magnum or non-magnum, which makes a difference for the weight of the action sleeve.